NJWA
Formally known as Najwa Mahiaddin, the Malaysian songbird was reborn as NJWA last year with the plan to embark the world with her new music direction.
Growing up influenced by Miss Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and Billie Holiday, the 33-year-old multiple award-winning singer-songwriter’s early music experience was when she started learning piano at age 3 and the first vocal lesson at the age of 9. Later, she spent 3 years pursuing her music degree at Berklee College of Music.
The three-song self-titled EP launched in early 2018 was not the declaration of her departure from R&B and neo-soul direction, but it was an infusion from her 8-year music journey. Before the NJWA era, Najwa released two vintage R&B albums with one exciting music venture as the vocalist of ‘Mostacho Xprmnt’ – a New York-based R&B fusion band she formed with four Berklee grads.
The mixture of electronica, traditional elements from Malaysian and Chinese roots with sultry vocals in the 2018 EP ‘NJWA’ has confirmed her late musical adoration for the likes of Little Dragon, Moses Sumney and James Blake. ‘Togok’ is a perfect blend between traditional folk sounds and modern lyrics, and you cannot miss ‘In The Name of Love’ if you want to know how a song recorded in the Malaysian jungle sounds like.
Recently, NJWA released a new single ‘Take Love Back’ this past April – a mark that reminds us to not take our eyes off of Malaysian modern R&B music.
Listen to ‘Togok’ by NJWA here: https://njwamusic.bandcamp.com/album/njwa
Bangkok Music City 